Swing Bridge

Citing safety concerns, city officials announced Monday evening that the Southwest 11th Avenue swing bridge will be closed to motor traffic indefinitely, according to a spokesman. The bridge will remain open to pedestrians and marine traffic, officials said. The city will be conducting inspections over the next several days to determine how long the bridge should be closed, said Chaz Adams, city spokesman. Built in 1924, the structure crosses over the north fork of the New River and is operated by hand, opening and closing to marine traffic with the use of a lever.

The 11 t h Avenue swing bridge in Fort Lauderdale is scheduled to be closed for 24 hours starting at 6:30 a.m. Monday,according to city officials. The emergency closure is necessary in order to address mechanical issues, officials said. Formally known as the Snow-Reed Swing Bridge, the structure is located between the 300 and 500 block of Southwest 11 t h Avenue and connects the Sailboat Bend and Riverside Park neighborhoods. During the closure, motorists will be detoured to Southwest 7 t h /Southwest 4 t h Avenue.

The swing bridge in Riverside Park reopened this month in all its steam punk glory. After being closed for exactly one year to complete repairs, the historic bridge on Southwest 11th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale will swing again. The Riverside Park neighborhood held a small reopening party at midnight, complete with a makeshift ribbon of pieced-together caution tape, according to Riverside Park Residents Association president Mark Hill. Many residents in the neighborhood felt they had waited long enough for the reopening, even though the picturesque old bridge had been deteriorating ever since it was erected in 1925.

The swing bridge in Riverside Park reopened this month in all its steam punk glory. After being closed for exactly one year to complete repairs, the historic bridge on Southwest 11th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale will swing again. The Riverside Park neighborhood held a small reopening party at midnight, complete with a makeshift ribbon of pieced-together caution tape, according to Riverside Park Residents Association president Mark Hill. Many residents in the neighborhood felt they had waited long enough for the reopening, even though the picturesque old bridge had been deteriorating ever since it was erected in 1925.

Fort Lauderdale Body of man found floating in New River The body of a man was found floating in the New River on Thursday morning, authorities said. The 42-year-old man was spotted by the 1500 block of Southwest 15th Avenue, said Sgt. Frank Sousa, a police spokesman. Officers responded to the scene before 10 a.m. The man was found wearing only pants and socks, Sousa said. Police found his identification but will not release the man's name until his relatives are notified. Investigators said it was likely the man had been in the water no longer than a day. Sousa declined to comment on the cause of death, which will be determined by autopsy.

Many Riverside Park residents in Fort Lauderdale were far from happy when the Southwest 11th Avenue swing bridge closed down in August for repairs that would take a full year to complete. For them, the closing means two things: more traffic and more hassles. Mark Hill, president of the Riverside Park Residents' Association, said the closing means that he and his neighbors can't get downtown and back so easily now. But the bridge means even more to residents. "Stand on the bridge, and the view to the east with the city skyline is spectacular," Hill said.

The 51 sailboats that showed up Wednesday for the 35th Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race got off to a slow start on an otherwise perfect afternoon. "There probably wasn't 6 or 7 knots of wind," race chairman Joel Bowie of Lauderdale Yacht Club said. According to some of the blogs from race competitors at keywestrace.org, which also is tracking the fleet's progress, the wind had increased to 11 knots as the boats sailed south of Miami. Most won't complete the 160-mile race until Thursday morning.

Fort Lauderdale The 51 sailboats that showed up Wednesday for the 35th Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race got off to a slow start on an otherwise perfect afternoon. "There probably wasn't 6 or 7 knots of wind," race chairman Joel Bowie of Lauderdale Yacht Club said. According to some of the blogs from race competitors at keywestrace.org, which also is tracking the fleet's progress, the wind had increased to 11 knots as the boats sailed south of Miami. Most won't complete the 160-mile race until Thursday morning.

The bridge tucked in the far western edge of Palm Beach County tells many stories. They're stories of hurricanes, family history, the transformation of the communities skirting Lake Okeechobee and bridge-building lore. For 75 years, the Point Chosen Bridge - also known as the Torry Island Bridge and Belle Glade Bridge - has connected the mainland levee to Torry Island in Lake Okeechobee. A simple task, sure, but the bridge has a special place in Florida history. It's one of the last of its kind.

In an attempt to save between $17,000 and $20,000 per year, city officials may limit the operating hours of the last remaining swivel bridge in the city. The 11th Avenue Bridge, which crosses the north fork of the New River and connects the Riverside Park and Sailboat Bend neighborhoods, may remain closed to boat traffic during the night shift, according to Hugh Barnhart, city street superintendent. Elimination of a bridge tender during those eight hours would save the city salary costs, Barnhart said.

The 51 sailboats that showed up Wednesday for the 35th Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race got off to a slow start on an otherwise perfect afternoon. "There probably wasn't 6 or 7 knots of wind," race chairman Joel Bowie of Lauderdale Yacht Club said. According to some of the blogs from race competitors at keywestrace.org, which also is tracking the fleet's progress, the wind had increased to 11 knots as the boats sailed south of Miami. Most won't complete the 160-mile race until Thursday morning.

Fort Lauderdale The 51 sailboats that showed up Wednesday for the 35th Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race got off to a slow start on an otherwise perfect afternoon. "There probably wasn't 6 or 7 knots of wind," race chairman Joel Bowie of Lauderdale Yacht Club said. According to some of the blogs from race competitors at keywestrace.org, which also is tracking the fleet's progress, the wind had increased to 11 knots as the boats sailed south of Miami. Most won't complete the 160-mile race until Thursday morning.

Many Riverside Park residents in Fort Lauderdale were far from happy when the Southwest 11th Avenue swing bridge closed down in August for repairs that would take a full year to complete. For them, the closing means two things: more traffic and more hassles. Mark Hill, president of the Riverside Park Residents' Association, said the closing means that he and his neighbors can't get downtown and back so easily now. But the bridge means even more to residents. "Stand on the bridge, and the view to the east with the city skyline is spectacular," Hill said.

The bridge tucked in the far western edge of Palm Beach County tells many stories. They're stories of hurricanes, family history, the transformation of the communities skirting Lake Okeechobee and bridge-building lore. For 75 years, the Point Chosen Bridge - also known as the Torry Island Bridge and Belle Glade Bridge - has connected the mainland levee to Torry Island in Lake Okeechobee. A simple task, sure, but the bridge has a special place in Florida history. It's one of the last of its kind.

The bridge tucked in the far western edge of Palm Beach County tells many stories. They're stories of hurricanes, family history, the transformation of the communities skirting Lake Okeechobee and bridge-building lore. For 75 years, the Point Chosen Bridge - also known as the Torry Island Bridge and Belle Glade Bridge - has connected the mainland levee to Torry Island in Lake Okeechobee. A simple task, sure, but the bridge has a special place in Florida history. It's one of the last of its kind.

Fort Lauderdale Body of man found floating in New River The body of a man was found floating in the New River on Thursday morning, authorities said. The 42-year-old man was spotted by the 1500 block of Southwest 15th Avenue, said Sgt. Frank Sousa, a police spokesman. Officers responded to the scene before 10 a.m. The man was found wearing only pants and socks, Sousa said. Police found his identification but will not release the man's name until his relatives are notified. Investigators said it was likely the man had been in the water no longer than a day. Sousa declined to comment on the cause of death, which will be determined by autopsy.

Sometime between our 21st and 22nd hour at sea, roughly 119 miles into a 305-mile journey, somewhere just west of Lake Okeechobee, amid the lightning, pounding rain and mosquitoes, my life's wants changed from an ambitious set of hopes and dreams to a singular quest: I wanted off this boat. Dead ahead, in a little shack at the foot of the Denaud Bridge, a woman I will never meet stood in my way. She was the bridgemaster, charged with opening this aged swing bridge so our 25-foot sailboat could pass.

Cameron Trice finally called. Trice is the president of Tri-Angle Maintenance, the Clearwater company that manages the 11th Avenue swing bridge for the city of Fort Lauderdale. The company fired bridge tender Jeanie Curtiss on May 24. And then rehired her Wednesday, after several columns - and megabytes of e-mail from you - protesting the firing. And a labor lawyer getting involved. I've been wanting to speak to Trice for months. So when he called me on my way in to work on Thursday, I pulled over.